Caleb Williams, Bears Starters Will Play in 2nd NFL Preseason Game vs. Bills

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed that starters including quarterback Caleb Williams will play against the Buffalo Bills in Sunday's second game of the preseason.

"Our plan right now is, the guys that sat out last week, they will be playing this week," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum and Austin Reed played at quarterback against the Miami Dolphins as Johnson sat his starters for last Sunday's preseason opener.

Johnson said before last weekend's preseason opener that the Bears had a "number of things scheduled around the game," including a joint practice with the Dolphins, that would get his starters reps without putting them on the field for game action.

"Last week, and really all through camp, I've pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get him up to speed," Johnson said about Williams. "And by the plan that we had a week ago, we were able to get him somewhere up to 80 and 100 more reps than we would have been able to do had he played in the game."

Williams has undergone a number of changes to his game this offseason, including taking shotgun snaps with his right foot forward instead of his left, while adjusting to the new system being implemented by Johnson.

Those changes have also involved more movement before the snap. Under Johnson's direction, the Detroit Lions' offense ranked fifth in the NFL with pre-snap motion usage of 70 percent last season, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. The Bears, in contrast, ranked 19th at 55 percent.

Cronin reported on Aug. 7 that there had been "multiple instances of pre-snap errors during the first three weeks of camp," including during the quarterback-center exchange.

Johnson told CHGO's Hoge & Jahns show last Friday that there were some "growing pains" because Williams was not only learning a new system but also "starting over a little bit in terms of the fundamentals."

"I'm really proud of how he's approached this thing," Johnson said about his quarterback last Friday. "He's taken the coaching, and we're fortunate that we still have time to get to where we need to for Week 1, and going into the first stretch of this season."

Getting a chance to see Williams implement the new system at game speed this week will be key to helping Johnson and his staff determine how ready the second-year quarterback is to take on the Minnesota Vikings during the Sept. 8 regular-season opener.